Chapter 838: Father Pucci's White Disc and the Anchor of Causality
"The specialized power within this relic?"
"As insatiably greedy as ever, I see."
As the Goddess spoke, her colossal form rapidly contracted, shrinking to the height of an ordinary Reincarnator—in fact, slightly shorter than Kaito Shirogane's current stature.
She paced around Kaito, her tone an ambiguous blend of mockery and appraisal.
A Reincarnator's unbridled greed was her ultimate sustenance.
Long accustomed to her demeanor, Kaito showed no reaction. He merely held the [Special Construct: Shadow] aloft in his palm, waiting in silence for her evaluation.
"The power sleeping inside this... do you truly grasp what dwells within it?"
The Goddess reached out, and the pitch-black shadow in Kaito's hand drifted into her slender grasp.
The substance—hovering between matter and antimatter—instantly distorted, shifting fluidly like a living slime.
"The power of Chaos, and the power of Son Gohan."
Kaito was no longer the ignorant, fragile novice who had first set foot in this sanctuary. He now stood at the undisputed summit of the Reincarnators, capable of projecting his sovereign presence even into secondary and primary worlds.
In inter-spatial dimensional wars, he was already an apex combat asset.
Having observed Son Goku, Son Gohan, and Black King Luffy from arm's length, his comprehension of high-tier power systems had matured completely.
Within this [Special Construct: Shadow] lay two distinct forces: one was the foreign imprint left by Son Gohan's astronomical Ki. Kaito had already extracted several Ki-related traits from it, though their standalone yields had been unremarkable.
Yet according to spatial telemetry, it still harbored Gohan's foundational Potential Factor.
Son Gohan was an entity endowed with latent potential so boundless that, while it might not match an anomaly like Broly, it was catastrophic compared to nearly any other biological lifeform across the multiverse.
The second force was the innate composition of the artifact itself: forged within the interstitial seam between spaces and planes, occupying a third state beyond matter and antimatter—a direct shadow cast into reality by Chaos itself.
[Spend S-Rank Singularity Point * 2, Dimensional Points * 78,000 to extract the Potential Factor contained within Special Construct: Shadow?]
[Spend SSS-Rank Singularity Point * 1, Dimensional Points * 180,000 to attempt extracting the Chaos Factor contained within Special Construct: Shadow?]
(Note: If extraction fails, invested resources cannot be refunded)
Even with Kaito Shirogane's staggering wealth and resource acquisition rate, the Goddess's asking price gave him pause.
Two S-Rank Singularity Points at once exceeded the highest historical listing price for any single ability, material, or artifact across the public stalls.
As for the extraction fee for the Chaos Factor below, it was unheard of: an SSS-Rank Singularity Point. Not only had Kaito never laid eyes on one, but it was likely that the Infinite Dimensional Space had never produced a Singularity Point of that tier since its inception.
Across typical mission worlds, a B-Rank Singularity Point corresponded to an entity hovering near the standard narrative ceiling. An A-Rank Singularity Point—outside of spatial emergency quests—demanded confronting authentic world-ceiling titans.
Whether surviving their onslaught or steering the plot, the difficulty was brutal.
Reaching an S-Rank Singularity Point meant engaging rule-breaking, transcendent plot characters; a single misstep meant certain death, even for combatants of Kaito's caliber.
Extrapolating from that logic, an SSS-Rank Singularity Point likely required making an enemy of an entire high-tier universe, or either salvaging a high-tier reality from total narrative collapse or reducing it to cosmic cinders.
"If I extract the Potential Factor, will this special construct be destroyed?"
"It will not."
Receiving confirmation, Kaito hesitated no longer. An SSS-Rank Singularity Point was far beyond his current reach anyway.
[You have spent S-Rank Singularity Point * 2, Dimensional Points * 78,000]
The Goddess opened her lips and inhaled gently. A golden stream of light tore from Kaito's chest, disappearing into her mouth.
She then closed her slender fingers firmly around the shifting black shadow. The amorphous matter collapsed inward. The intangible construct, which Kaito had been unable to physically touch, underwent authentic physical deformation under her grip.
Dense plumes of Ki erupted from the collapsing shadow, dispersing into the ambient air. Kaito felt a fleeting pang of waste, but within the dissipating Ki, fine specks of argent-white starlight coalesced.
Kaito reached out his hand, and the silvery motes sank into his flesh.
[You have acquired Potential Factor (Mythic)]
[Potential Factor fusing...]
[Constitution check—Passed]
[Spirit check—Passed]
Under the synergistic reinforcement of his Tier 7 Physique of the Primordial Man, paired with the Qilin Armor, Third Star Particles, and his baseline Limiter, Kaito's physical durability had long eclipsed the native Majins of the Dragon Ball cosmos.
All he lacked was the astronomical reservoir of Ki wielded by those alien bloodlines.
[Potential Factor (Mythic) successfully fused. Potential Awakening: 10%]
[Constitution +10. Current: 84]
[Strength +10. Current: 82]
[Agility +10. Current: 77]
[Spirit +10. Current: 99]
[You have acquired Trait: Near-Death Saiyan (Mythic)]
[You have acquired Trait: Blood of Wrath (World's Rarity)]
[You have acquired Trait: Potential Unleashed (Mythic)]
Silver-white bio-electric currents surged through Kaito's cellular lattice. Everywhere they coursed, his flesh felt as though it were being shredded down to the marrow, yet his instantaneous regeneration mended the microscopic tears in the span of a heartbeat.
With each completed cycle of cellular repair, both muscular tensile strength and tissue density scaled by an immense margin.
His gaze settled upon the three high-tier traits acquired in a single haul.
[Near-Death Saiyan (Mythic) — Whenever a Saiyan enters a near-death state, their cellular structure evolves upon recovery through the trauma of mortality. Ki and physical mass undergo synergistic, permanent amplification. The magnitude of the boost scales in direct proportion to the severity of the near-death trauma.]
This was the signature, peerless racial trait of the Saiyan warrior race: returning from the threshold of death exponentially stronger. It was the precise mechanic Kaito had lusted after from the outset.
Having paid an exorbitant toll, it was finally his.
Wielded by someone possessing absurd regenerative efficiency and layered immortality, this trait was infinitely more terrifying than in the hands of native Saiyans who relied on limited Senzu Beans to heal.
[Blood of Wrath (World's Rarity) — Furious emotional states amplify the density of Ki and muscular output. Upper ceiling: 200%.]
[Potential Unleashed (Mythic) (Inactive) — When the Potential Factor reaches 100% awakening, you may unleash your Complete Form, massively enhancing all active traits.]
Kaito glanced briefly at Blood of Wrath before looking past it. Powerful though it was, entering genuine rage was an exceptionally rare occurrence for him.
Currently, it would serve primarily as an auxiliary layer to chain alongside [Ultimate Great Sin: King of Wrath].
In that state, his mind was thoroughly submerged in bottomless fury; Blood of Wrath would simply act as an organic two-fold multiplier, adding another brick to his rapidly solidifying multiplicative system.
What truly arrested his attention was [Potential Unleashed]. Judging by his current awakening threshold of 10%, unlocking the trait remained a distant milestone.
Yet once fully awakened—to say nothing of unlocking a specialized transformation akin to Beast Gohan—the passive boost to all active traits, paired with the massive attribute scaling upon full release, would grant his combat ceiling a seismic, qualitative leap.
[Incoming transmission from TT65562877 (Black Butler): Several high-value targets have arrived seeking a transaction. Your personal presence is required to finalize terms.]
Given that the majority of Kaito's abilities had advanced to extraordinary heights during his contact with the Root, he had no immediate need to invest resources within the Goddess's Sanctuary. He confirmed his exit, teleporting off the white jade terrace.
Returning to the public plaza, Kaito observed the post-upgrade layout: the vast white marble expanse was now partitioned into six symmetrical circular sectors.
The shantytown market had been consolidated neatly along one flank.
Within each massive sector stood a grand, palatial white-marble pavilion, presumably housing upgraded facilities corresponding to the Training Grounds, Step Appraisal Offices, and logistics hubs.
When Kaito returned to the market sector, the plaza was already teeming with Reincarnators. The seven-day system freeze had created an immense backlog, prompting countless operatives to flood the public grounds the moment the gates reopened.
Furthermore, that seven-day hiatus had synchronized deployment intervals that normally staggered squads across different schedules.
As a result, the volume of rare artifacts, materials, and intelligence circulating across the stalls was unprecedented.
To compound the windfall, the violent skirmishes raging across the real world over the past week had yielded a massive harvest of Crimson Drop Cards, flooding the market with siphoned abilities and high-tier equipment.
Everything had converged upon this single marketplace, exponentially elevating the probability of legendary items surfacing.
Thanks to Kaito's routine listings of high-tier Crimson Drop Cards and sovereign spoils, his personal stall had long become the most heavily trafficked destination outside those operated by the Chosen Ones.
Operatives holding top-tier materials naturally prioritized trading with the most formidable powerhouse in the East District.
Consequently, the crowd encircling his stall was overwhelming.
Even with the expanded plaza allocating generous clearance around each stall, dozens of neighboring merchant plots were entirely engulfed by the throngs.
Yet neighboring vendors raised zero complaints; the staggering foot traffic catalyzed record sales across the entire row. Everyone knew the absolute pinnacle of goods was held at Mercenary Tao's stall, but how many operatives could afford those exorbitant price tags?
In the end, the surplus buyers settled for their wares instead.
"His Lordship has arrived!"
Kaito had made no effort to alter his avatar. Recognized from afar—heralded by the distinct, shifting atmospheric anomalies trailing his arrival—the sea of Reincarnators parted like the tide.
Stepping onto his stall's perimeter, Kaito found several figures radiating distinct, formidable auras standing at the very front.
The leader was a dark-skinned, heavily muscled man wearing a rugged utility jacket, immediately recognizable as an operative from a foreign district.
Beside him stood several individuals draped in exotic runic talisman-chains and heavy talismans, exuding distinct foreign styles.
Operatives from the North and South Districts.
"You must be the King of Monsters, Lord Mercenary Tao~"
The dark-skinned leader spoke in a low, resonant baritone, his cadence translated seamlessly through the Universal Language module.
He inclined his head slightly in formal deference before continuing: "I am a Reincarnator from the North District: [Priest of the Underworld: Aradu]. I have traveled across districts in the hope of securing a transaction and establishing a partnership with your Lordship."
He paused, adding with quiet emphasis:
"After all, in the current world order, the only Reincarnator capable of standing against that woman in the West... is likely you alone."
Kaito had not expected Avalon's expansion to pose an immediate existential threat to the other sectors so swiftly, seemingly slowing its push into the East to systematically annex the more vulnerable North and South Districts first.
For this man to cross districts to seek a trade meant ulterior motives were undoubtedly at play.
Black Butler stepped forward, sliding transaction dossiers into Kaito's interface while sending an encrypted telepathic whisper:
"Just moments ago, West District's Avalon dispatched eight Knights of the Round Table—including Sovereign Monarch Hill—into the North District's physical territories, ruthlessly suppressing and executing multiple Reincarnator assemblies..."
"Aradu brought an exceptionally rare material under the pretext of a trade, but his genuine objective is securing a defensive commitment from our Paradise to check Avalon's advance."
As he spoke, Black Butler displayed the item profile.
[Material: Father Pucci's White Disc]
[Quality: World's Rarity]
[Description: A crystallized relic left behind by an ordained priest from a certain universe.]
[Effect: Upon smelting, grants one of the following traits:]
[Whitesnake Extraction (World's Rarity) — Each time an attack connects with an adversary, there is a fixed probability of extracting a specific ability or segment of memory, materializing it into a physical disc. Upon extraction, the target permanently forfeits that ability or memory. Probability scales with the user's Luck attribute and the attribute chasm between combatants.]
[Undisclosed Trait]
[Undisclosed Trait]
Though the profile displayed only a single smelting branch, its mechanical implications were absurdly lethal.
In Black Butler's assessment, for Lord Mercenary Tao—who had deliberately acquired luck-altering esper abilities in the past—the synergy of this trait would be terrifying.
Backed by His Lordship's speed and martial mastery, landing dozens of consecutive strikes in a fraction of a second was trivial. No matter how troublesome an adversary might be, the second their core abilities were plucked from their spine, finishing them would be child's play.
Yet Kaito merely glanced at the disc before sliding his eyes toward the next figure.
The operative sporting distinct South District regalia curled his lips into an easy smile. He had reviewed Aradu's material; it was undeniably potent, but how much utility did a combatant of Mercenary Tao's profile truly have for such insidious tricks? Would an apex monster who executed top-tier Reincarnators through sheer physical velocity and overwhelming force waste time extracting skills and memories?
The man codenamed [Unfalling Flame: Fanmos] stepped forward: "Lord Mercenary Tao, the South District seeks a formal partnership with the East's Paradise. As a gesture of our sincerity, this artifact requires only Singularity Points to trade."
[Anchor of Causality]
[Type: Special Artifact, Consumable]
[Quality: World's Rarity]
[Description: A rare temporal relic yielded probabilistically from the Steins;Gate and Mirai Nikki universes, carrying the authority to bend spacetime anchors.]
[Prerequisites: None]
[Effect: Deploys an absolute anchor point, fixing the user's physical status, spatial coordinates, timeline, and causality. Within 5 minutes, you may trigger an instantaneous temporal rewind, forcibly returning your state and reality to the exact moment the anchor was dropped.]
(This effect operates unconditionally through death)
Resting within Fanmos's open palm, a crystalline, diamond-shaped prism revolved in absolute silence.